What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific
study of the workplace. Rigor and methods of psychology are
applied to issues of critical relevance to business,
including talent management, coaching, assessment,
selection, training, organizational development,
performance, and work-life balance.

SIOP Presentation Suggestions for Master Tutorial Sessions

Master Tutorial. The primary purpose of the master tutorial is to provide current information and to educate the audience about a topic. As examples, tutorials might be developed to provide an update on a specified content area, discuss a new statistical technique, or describe how knowledge from another discipline can be applied to a problem or topic. Topics that are not appropriate include descriptions of products that the presenter is marketing. Proposals for tutorials should describe the specific content to be taught in the tutorial and indicate whether the coverage of the material will be basic or advanced. If appropriate and meeting APA requirements, as a service to our members, continuing education credit (CE credit) will be assigned to these sessions. For this reason, all Master Tutorials must be at least 80 minutes long. Additionally, to facilitate this process, all submissions for master tutorials must include 3-4 learning objectives (e.g., “Participants will be able to identify the various antecedents and consequences of counterproductive work behavior) and curricula vitae for all presenters.

If co-presenting, have your presentation done early enough to send to other session members.

The best sessions are those that have a coherent theme and are well integrated. This is best accomplished when session members have advance notice of each others presentations. Do not wait until the last minute to make these accessible. A common rule of thumb is to have the presentation/paper available 2 weeks before the conference. Doing so not only gives you more time to practice but also is far more considerate of other session members.

Preparation of visual aids.

Visual aids can greatly improve the effectiveness of a presentation. While increasing an audiences’ interest, well-prepared slides can be extremely useful for clarifying and supporting key points in the presentation.

If you need to refer to a particular slide more than once, prepare duplicates of the slides such that you do not need to scroll back and forth during the presentation.

A picture is worth a thousand words. When feasible, including figures will more effectively communicate your message than a large, extensive table or words.

Prepare a back-up form of your visual aids. Sometimes technology does not work. If you are planning on using PowerPoint, prepare some back-up handouts in case you encounter a technical problem.

Coordinate technology plans with other session members. LCD projectors will be available in each session room. However, you will need to bring your own computer to use the LCD projectors. Coordinate with other session members to ensure that at least one of the session members will bring a laptop that can be used for the session. Then be sure to make plans for loading the presentations and making sure they work properly on the computer well before the session begins.

Error check visual and computer aids beforehand.

There is nothing so distracting to a presentation than presenters fumbling with technology (e.g., LCD) while the audience patiently waits. If at all possible, error check any visual or computer-based aids you intend to use before the session starts.

Ask yourself, what’s the point?

A visual serves one main purpose: to help make a point. This concept sometimes gets forgotten, and tables or charts are included in the presentation for no apparent reason. It is better to figure out your message and then determine the best way to share that message.

Interpret; don’t just report.

As the presenter, you are the expert on the subject being discussed. The data speak for themselves is a common expression. The trouble is, they oftentimes don’t and they often say different things to different people. Your job is to use your expertise and insights to help others understand the information.

Summarize.

Do not forget to allow time at the end of the presentation, and prior to giving suggestions for further research, to summarize the main points of your presentation. Keep in mind, many of your audience members, during the presentation, may have been engrossed in one particular element of your presentation, and missed other key points.

Please pay careful attention to time limits.

Please respect the time limits for the session; it is the polite and courteous thing to do.

As a general rule of thumb, plan on spending roughly one minute per slide. Therefore, if you have 12 minutes to present, you generally don’t want the number of slides in your presentation to exceed 12-15.

Bring plenty of handouts.

Audience members will probably expect something to take home from a tutorial. Handouts can be used as workbooks as one goes through the material. Make sure you bring plenty of copies. You might want to check about the room size for your session. You will probably also want to have a sign-up sheet available in case you run out. If instead you prefer to post your materials online to be downloaded, please bring mailing labels or cards that contain your Web site. Asking participants to write down long Web addresses will almost ensure that mistakes will be made.

Remember, they are visual aids.

The most important part of the presentation is you, the presenter. Visual aids may be a very important tool, but your words and conduct are primary. Be particularly careful about the number and amount of information in your visuals, and the number of handouts. After all, if the entire message is on the visuals, why do we need a presenter?

Accessibility of the presentation.

SIOP is committed to ensuring that conferences are accessible to people with disabilities. Each and every member of your audience deserves the opportunity to benefit from your presentation. Please help us with this effort by using the following guidelines:

Assume that there will be some members of your audience with disabilities.

Remember, disabilities are not always obvious. Some people will likely have difficulty seeing your visual aids and/or hearing your presentation. Be prepared. Design presentation materials that will be user-friendly to your whole audience.

Describe the information presented in your visual aids.

Help the audience see the information by describing and summarizing what’s being presented.

Whenever possible, offer materials that are easy to read.

Handouts with black print on white paper are generally preferred. If possible, provide large print copies of your presentation when requested.

Make yourself visible to the audience.

For the benefit of those who are deaf or hard of hearing, your mouth and face should be in direct view of the audience throughout the presentation. When speaking, avoid turning your back to the audience and standing in dimly lit areas of the room.

Use the microphone.

Even if many audience members can hear you without it, the hearing limited may not. Also, each presentation is recorded and sold, and if you are not using the microphone, it is often difficult to be heard on the audio.

Turn audio/visual off when not in use.

This will reduce background noise that is potentially distracting to your audience.

Allow extra time for reviewing information presented on visual aids.

Assume that some members of your audience will need time to look at the visual aids and then focus their attention on you for further information.

Show enthusiasm for your presentation.

If you cannot be excited about your topic, how can you expect anyone else to be? To the extent you feel comfortable doing so, show that you are excited (e.g., Now here is the cool part, would you look at this? Can you believe this is what we found?).

Your first few comments will set the tone for the entire session. If you can show excitement for the session, it is more likely that the audience will as well.

Preparation is the key to success.

Planning for the session and helping presenters prepare will contribute to an interesting and informative session overall.

Plan the use of time.

Start and end the session promptly. Prepare an overall plan and approximate time schedule for the session before the conference.

Try to encourage active audience participation.

Although you may have some prearranged points to discuss, involve the audience from the beginning. If possible, ask them some general questions up front, and try to tailor your presentation to their interests.

If co-presenting, help other presenters prepare.

Offer to review the presenters’ presentation, plans, visuals, or handouts. Note any duplication in the content and suggest revisions to avoid excessive repetition.

Try to practice the delivery of the tutorial in advance, if possible.

Assist with seating of those with disabilities.

Ensure that each member of the audience can see and hear the presentations. Reserve a couple of seats in the front and back of the room for persons using wheelchairs, canes, crutches, or motorized vehicles.

Moderate the audience discussion.

Provide a clear description as to the nature of the session as soon as it starts, to orient the audience to the issues.

Repeat each question or comment before responding so that all can hear. For taping purposes, this will also ensure that the question or comment is recorded. A few minutes before the session should end, announce the next question will be the last. If necessary, politely interrupt the speaker.